110 HOW TO BUY A HORSE. 



his kueesbeut forward and his legs tremulous, or with both 

 bis fetlock joints knuckled forward over his pasterns, one 

 may be sure that however good he may once have been, 

 he has been knocked to pieces or injured by hard driving 

 and hard work. Supposing the horse now to stand square 

 and true on all his legs, leaning his weight on each and all 

 indifferently, with one glance at the horse in profile the 

 side examination may be held as complete and satisfactory. 

 That glance will ascertain whether the posterior outline of 

 the hock joint is nearly perpendicular, or whether it is an- 

 gular or has a convex curvilinear protuberance immedi- 

 ately above the commencement of the shank bone. This 

 curvilinear protuberance, if large, is a curb which will pro- 

 duce lameness, though not of an incurable sort ; if not large, 

 it is either the trace of a curb which has been cured, but 

 may at any time return, or an indication of tendency to 

 throw out curbii, on being put to hard work, especially in 

 heavy gi-ound. Horses which have been curbed, or which 

 have curbed-shaped hocks, are generally to be avoided ; 

 but, as it is generally colts which throw out curbs, when first 

 put to hard work, an old horse which has done his share of 

 work without having been actually curb:d, is not to be ab- 

 solutely rejected because he has what are commonly called 

 curby hocks; for, that he has not yet thrown them out, 

 under the stress of his early hard work, is, to a certain ex- 

 tent, security that he will not do so now. Had the tendency 

 been strong it would probably have developed itself al- 

 ready. 



The side examination finished, the observer should sta- 

 tion himself opposite to the head of the horse, and see that 

 in this point of view also the horse, standing or moving, 

 Btands and moves with all his legs perpendicularly under 

 him. Kot to do so does not, it is true, indicate disease, 

 W. it indicates malformation, inducing awkwardness and 



